


This Is How We Fall

by MissCrazyWriter321



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Garcia Flynn does not know how to flirt, Hospitals, Ice Skating, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 18:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17792558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissCrazyWriter321/pseuds/MissCrazyWriter321
Summary: It's probably possible to make a worse first impression on the love of your life.He isn't quite sure how, but it's probably possible.





	This Is How We Fall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PrairiePirate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrairiePirate/gifts), [only_freakin_donuts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/only_freakin_donuts/gifts).



> Two fics in one day? Call it a Valentine's Day present. Also, I actually wrote fluff. I know, I can't believe it either. Mind you, someone still ends up in the hospital, but I promise, this is 98% fluff. Thanks to only-freakin-sunflowers for the hours of Timeless chatting that inspired this idea. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas!

Alive.   


There was no other word for it. The world whizzing by, the brisk air in his face, his heart racing in his chest…. Ice skating made him feel alive.   


It started with his mother. Every weekend, like clockwork, they’d stop by the local ice rink, and skate for hours. She was always sad, always had a cloud hanging over her. But when she'd skate, some of that would fade. She wouldn't be happy, not by any stretch, but she always seemed lighter on the ice. Like maybe, for just a moment, she was truly able to outrun her pain.  

Somehow, it stuck. As years went on, and he found himself stateside, not in the midst of a war, he took up skating once more. And now, he lived less than five minutes from a rink.

Needless to say, he was on the ice every chance he got.

A commotion across the rink drew him from his thoughts, and he glanced over, instinctively on guard. A crowd of probably close to twenty women, had entered the rink. They were laughing, chattering away, and he relaxed. Started to look away.

Then, he saw her. 

Dark hair, a bright smile, and the most adorable fuzzy hat he'd ever seen in his life. He'd never believed in love at first sight, and if pressed, he wouldn't say that’s what this was. All he knew was that he had to meet her, to talk to her, to _ know  _ her- (Later, he wouldn't have an explanation for what happened. In the moment, it seemed like the most obvious thing in the world.) 

He pushed off the wall, starting toward her. The rink was decently large, and he knew he had to hurry if he wanted to catch her, before she was lost in the sea of skaters. So he went fast, faster than normal, hardly paying attention to the world around him. 

He never would know what happened next. Not exactly, anyway. He was distracted, eyes on her, and didn't notice something lying on the ground. It must have been small, like a button or a pen, but he never would be sure what it was. All he was sure of was that one second, he was skating, and the next, he was flying through the air, his stomach in his throat. She turned-finally seeing him, when he least wanted her to-just as he collided with the ground. Then, everything was blissfully dark.

-

Everything hurt. 

His head, his chest, his legs… “I'm too old for this,” he murmured, blinking against the blinding light, trying to determine where he was. Laying down, definitely, on something hard and uncomfortable. 

A soft giggle froze him in place, just as his vision adjusted to the light. (A hospital, he noted absently. White walls and beeping machines, all around him.) He looked-cautiously-and barely bit back a groan. 

Her. 

Of all the people to be there with him, it would be the one he made an utter fool of himself in front of. Her eyes sparkled as she studied him, and if he’d thought she was lovely before, seeing her up close left him breathless. (Well, it was either that, or he’d injured himself worse than expected, which didn’t seem impossible, with the way his muscles ached.)

“Hi,” he murmured, rather intelligently, and her smile widened. 

“Hey there. How are you feeling?” 

Well, he’s already blown it. No sense in trying to impress her now. “Ah, sore, mortified, wishing the floor would swallow me up… But otherwise, fantastic!” 

She chuckled, patting his arm, and he decided he quite liked her touching him. “Well, the pain meds should help with the soreness, but I’m afraid there’s not much I can do about the other. Although, for what it’s worth, it’s not the worst first impression a guy has ever made on me.”

That was both relieving and concerning, to say the least. “Oh?” 

“Don’t ask.” She shuddered. “Fire and yodeling are a bad combination.” 

He wanted to ask, wanted to listen to her talk for hours, about anything and everything. “But I’m a close second, right?” He teased, and to his absolute delight, she laughed again. Already, he could see that becoming his new favorite sound, if she stuck around long enough.

“Third, at least,” she allowed. Then, she sobered slightly. “You’re lucky, you know? Aside from a few bruises, and a bit of a concussion, you’re going to be fine. It could have been a lot worse.”

Oh, he was well aware. Sheepish, he glanced down, studying the off-white blanket covering him. “I… Appreciate you coming here. You didn’t have to.”

Unexpectedly, she frowned. “Well, I couldn’t just leave you there. And it was kind of my fault, so-”

“Not at all.” His stupidity was his own; she did not deserve the blame of that. He was well aware of the dangers of careless ice skating, and he’d let it all slip his mind over a beautiful woman. (But she was more than beautiful, he knew that now. She was funny, and thoughtful, and he couldn’t regret falling, not if it meant he got to spend more time with her.) “Completely on me,” he assured her. 

“Still.” Something flickered in her eyes, a memory of some sort, and she asked, “Is there anyone I should call now that you’re awake? Family? Friend?” For half a second, her gaze darted to his ring finger, then away. “Girlfriend?”

It almost didn’t register. He was racking his brain for a name to give her, to make himself seem just a little less pathetic and alone, but was coming up short. “Not really. I have some colleagues, but I wouldn’t want to bother them, and-” He paused. Took in her relieved expression. And considered her words. 

_ Oh.  _

“There’s no one,” he murmured, hoping his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. 

She seemed a little flustered herself, suddenly-maybe realizing she was caught out-but she rallied quickly. “Well, then. I’d better stay here. Keep you company, you know?”

“You don’t have to,” he told her, because he didn’t want her to feel trapped, didn’t want her to feel like she owed him anything. Her face fell, and he could have kicked himself. (If he could have moved his leg properly, of course.) “But I don’t… Mind.”

A bit of an understatement. So sue him. He didn’t want to scare her off. 

She studied him for a moment, before chuckling, settling back into her seat. He had the distinct impression she was laughing at him, but he didn’t mind. Not if it meant she was staying. “You don’t have any idea how to do this, do you?” 

“Ah… No. Not really.” Another understatement, perhaps. His mother always used to tease him when the neighborhood girls came around, giggling and twirling their hair. He’d always been at something of a loss. 

“That’s okay.” Her eyes danced, but there was something warm in her smile that made him finally relax. “I’ll handle it for both of us.” 

(And she did.)

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like Lorena deserves more appreciation. I mean, she was married to Garcia Flynn. The man does not know how to flirt to save his life, so you know she had some interesting experiences there. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely day, and if no one told you today, (or even if they did,) I love you. Happy Valentine's Day!!!


End file.
